shinobi
by paws-bells
Summary: ItaSaku IIP-verse Non-Massacre AU. Contrary to popular belief, Itachi did not seduce Sakura during the time she was nursing him back to health. No, it was the other way around, an innocent seduction that ensnared the Uchiha heir like nothing else could.
1. Chapter 1

**Title:** shinobi

**Author: **paws-bells

**Beta-ed by:** MelissaRose85

**Characters/Pairing: **Haruno Sakura and Uchiha Itachi

**Type:** Two-shot (InComplete)

**Genre:** Romance

**Word Count:** 5014

**Theme:** LJ Community, 50-shinobi theme #35, shinobi

**Rating: **T (Contains content not suitable for children)

**Disclaimer:** Naruto belongs to Kishimoto-san.

**Summary: **Non-massacre AU. Sequel to sexy no jutsu. Contrary to popular belief (and Shisui), Itachi did not seduce Sakura during the time she was nursing him back to health. No, it was actually the other way around, and a completely innocent seduction that had ensnared the Uchiha heir like nothing else could. At least, that was how it started.

**Created on:** 21/08/08

**Completed on:** 29/08/08

**Chapter Last Revised on:** 21/02/09

**

* * *

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Chapter 1

* * *

"…_Itachi-san…" _

"_Itachi-san…you must focus…" _

"…_don't close your eyes…don't fall asleep…" _

"Damn it, Itachi-san! I still owe you a favor, and if you die before I get to repay it, I will never forgive you! Pull yourself together!!"

The angry growl snapped the disorientated nin back into focus, and although it was difficult not to succumb to the temptation of unconsciousness, his responsibilities as team Captain did not allow him to become weak, definitely not when the status of his cell members was still unknown. He was also vaguely aware that he was being carried on what appeared to be an ally's back, his exhausted, badly weakened and poisoned self being supported by another, his rescuer's lithe form and sleek, powerful muscles bunching and releasing under him with swift, steady rhythm as they raced to safety.

He thought he saw glimpses of blonde and spiky raven-hair at the edge of his rapidly darkening vision, and the greatest confirmation of them all was the splash of gentle pink that currently occupied a large portion of his poison-tinged sight, as well as the tickle of hair against his nose and the side of his face.

Unexpectedly, his brother's team had come to the rescue.

"…Nezumi." His voice was hoarse and almost inaudible, but he swallowed and forced the words out of his of painfully dry throat. "…Ondori and Uma, what are their statuses?"

Like any model team leader, he had enquired about the safety of his members first, although that was hardly necessary, according to Sakura. Because like any _exemplary_ team leader, he had somehow managed to intercept the worse of the attacks to his team, engaging the most powerful enemies and thus incurring the risk of suffering the greatest damage whenever his team entered battle.

"Don't worry about them," she answered, eyes ahead the entire time as she leapt swiftly from branch to branch. "Your injuries are the worst among your team."

He did not say anything, but she could sense that he wasn't completely content with her brief report. Since it would encourage him to remain awake, Sakura started to inform him about their current situation.

"Like you, Rat is immobilized by an attack, and Horse is supporting him. Rooster, Sai, Naruto and Sasuke are acting as front and rear guards for myself and Horse. We are in Fire territory now, ETA to Konoha is approximately half an hour, and I doubt that the Iwa-nin are in pursuit any longer."

She felt him relax slightly.

"Don't sleep," she reminded once more, her voice tensed with worry. "We will reach Konoha soon; you can rest then, but not before."

Once again, Sakura's command was given in a hard, attention-catching manner that was rather difficult to ignore. But the venom was strong, coursing viciously through his bloodstream and wreaking absolute havoc in his internal organs. The pain was excruciating, but the pale-faced Uchiha bore it stoically with grim, shaky silence. Holding on to the fleeting tendrils of his consciousness was going to be an uphill battle he wasn't sure he would be able to win.

"Sasuke is losing his composure," Sakura remarked, almost like a running commentary to occupy the attention of the older Uchiha. "If anything happens to you…"

If anything happened to him, the harsh duties and burdens of the clan would ultimately fall back upon the shoulders of his little brother. He could not let that happen.

After months of conflicted emotions and difficult decision making, Sasuke had finally decided to separate himself from the clan; not exactly disowned, but more of a self-imposed social isolation, living away from the clan grounds and becoming housemates with his best friend Naruto instead. The many flaws and widening cracks in the clan's structure had become more and more obvious to him as he grew older, and when push came to shove, he just could not find it within himself to be subjugated under the absolute ruling thumb of the ruthless, bigoted clan elders any longer. Silently supporting his otouto's decision, Itachi had subtly helped make the transition smoother for Sasuke, cutting the cumbersome strings that tied his little brother down to their wretched family and helping free Sasuke from the long reach of the clan, even if he himself would never be able to do the same thing.

If he died now, there was no doubt that Sasuke would be dragged back into the messy, murky clan politics whether he wanted it or not, and that Itachi could not allow.

He had lived to protect his younger brother; he refused to let his existence go to waste now.

Pain-tinted onyx eyes hardened with resolve.

"I will not sleep," he promised quietly to the pink-haired female currently laboring with all her might to make sure that he reached Konoha alive. "Until you state otherwise, I will not rest, Sakura."

Weak as he was, his roughened, tenor tone held firm.

Sakura had no doubt that he would keep his word.

"And I will not let you die," she vowed grimly to the severely injured Uchiha, her conviction so strong that his attention was briefly caught by the fierce determination in her voice. "So just wait a little while longer."

Her will to keep him, only a mere acquaintance, alive was so strong that he was belatedly astounded by her drive—and at the same time, an entirely foreign, empowering sense of relief.

_Almost like the taste of freedom. _

Even in his state of disorientation, it wasn't difficult to understand this rare emotion that he was experiencing.

So this was what it felt like to trust, and to trust completely.

Right now, the matter of his life or death rested, literally, in the delicate palms of her hands. He had absolutely nothing to lose and everything to gain by believing in her, and there was no time better than now to do it.

Itachi decided to take the gamble.

* * *

The poison extraction was successful, but because Itachi's injuries were rather serious, he would have to be hospitalized and kept under observation. Keeping her promise to Sasuke that she would be the one to treat his brother, Sakura had been put in charge of Itachi's healing, handing his case over to the other medic-nin on duty only when his condition had stabilized. Then it was off to the Hokage's Tower to give her report of the mission to shishou, explaining what Team Seven had been doing prior to the accidental meeting of ANBU Team Three, as well as the reason why they had made the choice to intercept and interrupt the ambush by Iwa-nin. Sakura also made sure to include in her report the condition of their casualties, making it clear that they would not suffer any fatalities this time around, much to the relief of the younger Uchiha.

All in all, Team Seven had done a good job, and since the team had been taking mission after mission continuously for the past month or so, Tsunade naturally found this a great excuse to take all four of them off the active duty roster, giving them two weeks off and absolutely banning them from appearing anywhere near the vicinity of the assignment room from today on. Sasuke, who had been making use of the overwhelming amount of assignments to distract himself from his steadily worsening relationship with his clan, was surprisingly quiet over this imposed hiatus. It was probably because the stoic male was still rather worried about his brother to care about anything else, though he was just too proud to reveal anything like that.

However, Sakura was definitely surprised when her raven-haired teammate and good friend appeared on her doorstep early the next morning, asking her to allow his older brother to stay with her temporarily.

"But Itachi-san still needs to be hospitalized!" Sakura had sounded bewildered.

"My brother is not comfortable staying in a hospital," the Uchiha merely answered.

That made the pink-haired kunoichi frown.

"This is ridiculous. Why do all the powerful nin detest the hospital so much? There is no choice; Itachi-san has to stay in the hospital until his injuries heal."

"Nii-san has a very good reason for being wary of hospitals; he has faced an assassination attempt there once, when he was badly weakened after a mission and the attempt to kill him was almost successful. Since then, my aniki has always avoided prolonged stays in hospitals."

Sakura appeared surprised; she had never heard anything like this before.

"Is that even possible?"

The younger Uchiha nodded.

"He avoids getting too severely wounded, and has learned to heal most common injuries by himself. My brother is not only the Captain of his cell, but the team medic as well."

In hindsight, Sakura wasn't really surprised to find out that the Uchiha was actually a qualified field medic. Even though his seemingly cold and detached demeanor may not show it, she was beginning to see, judging by how he always sought to protect and shield people whom he was responsible for from harm, that he was a lot more than he appeared to be.

"…I don't think shishou is going to allow this," Sakura remarked cautiously at last. Sasuke shook his head.

"Godaime-sama would make an exception for Itachi," the younger Uchiha sounded very certain. Before Sakura could ask, he continued. "I wasn't old enough to know the full details then; apparently Itachi managed to fight off his assailant, but he was so disorientated from the dosage of drugs and blood loss that he had trouble differentiating between friend and foe, and some medics got injured in the process."

In other words, his brother managed to turn the entire ward upside down, even when he was badly injured and shouldn't be up and about in the first place. It was also apparent that he would probably be highly tense and wary if he was forced to remain in the hospital this time around. More so, Sakura knew from experience that tense and wary shinobi simply do not heal well and almost always never failed to make the nursing staff nervous and prone to making more mistakes as well, which would, in turn, further agitate the highly distrustful and jittery patient even more.

Still, the kunoichi raised a brow of disbelief.

"What makes you think he would trust me, Sasuke?" she asked slowly. "Itachi-san is clearly wary of being under the care of people whom he is not familiar with."

The spiky-haired Uchiha did not mince his words.

"You are my teammate, Sakura, and I trust you," he answered matter-of-factly, though it sounded somewhat as if he was forcing the words out of his mouth. "That's all my nii-san needs to know to put him at ease."

It was a very rare compliment coming from one as usually close-mouthed as Sasuke, and Sakura's brow climbed higher. Her teammate shifted with discomfort; it probably went completely against his naturally grumpy nature to be saying such nice things to her, and before he could twitch and fidget in uncertain agony any longer, she sighed and finally nodded, mentally bidding goodbye to her two weeks of break.

"Alright, I will do it."

* * *

And that was how, two hours later, Sakura's apartment became a mini hubbub of activity as Team Seven pitched in to help Sasuke's brother relocate over to her spare bedroom. The older Uchiha looked worse than ever, wan and exhausted and his expression stressed and pained from the move, but he made no protest and gave no further indication of discomfort as his younger brother helped him hobble into her house.

"I apologize for imposing," he had told her in a rough, unsteady voice the very moment he entered her front door, and she merely smiled gently at him and assured him that it was alright; he was no trouble at all and she was used to caring for all her friends at one time or another.

"Don't worry, aniki," the younger Uchiha assured. "Sakura is the best medic-nin in Konoha, barring our Hokage-sama. It is her duty to help you." Separated from his clan or not, Sasuke was clearly the typical Uchiha, the superiority complex inherent to his clan rising to the surface whenever no one was there to keep it in check.

It was a good thing that Sakura was such an obliging teammate. The kunoichi refrained from showing any visible reaction that might let the older Uchiha feel unwelcome, but she did smile sweetly at his younger brother.

"Sasuke-kun, I look forward to a _long_ and _vigorous_ spar with you the next time we train," she merely remarked with a candied, coy smile.

Any stranger would have come to the inevitable conclusion that the pink-haired kunoichi was flirting with her teammate, but all it took was one glance at the looks of pity/amusement from their remaining cell members to realize that something was amiss, not to mention that said male in question, who seemed to have received the lady's favor, appeared a little wary as well.

Sai smiled blankly.

"Hag, you really shouldn't flirt with another's boyfriend," the ink-master reproached in his usual sedate, blankly cheerful manner. "Did you forget that Emo is currently cohabiting with the Dickless Wonder?"

With a single remark, he had just insulted everyone in his team, save for himself, of course. The resulting reaction was typical—and unanimously aggravated.

"Shut up, Sai!"

But Sakura's lips were twitching with suppressed amusement, though both Naruto and Sasuke looked ready to commit murder to defend their manhood. Itachi watched the team's close-knit interaction with the quiet intensity of a curious cat until Sakura finally saw fit to chase her entire team from her apartment minutes later.

"But Sakura-chan!" Naruto had whined and protested shamelessly as usual. "What if teme's brother tries to take advantage of you?"

Never mind that Itachi was still within hearing distance; Naruto had just yelled his opinion for the entire world to hear, as usual. Sasuke twitched visibly at the ridiculous remark, and Sakura rolled her eyes.

Right, like she could see Uchiha Itachi, the unemotional Ice Block of Konoha, trying to 'take advantage' of her whilst still recovering from poison as well as other various injuries.

Sakura decided to conveniently forget about that completely embarrassing 'oiroke no jutsu' incident just a few months ago, having already convinced herself that the older Uchiha had done all he had to help her out of a potentially dangerous situation, and no more. It did make perfect sense, and just because of that encounter, she had decided that she owed him a favor. Now was the perfect time to repay her debt.

"Sakura-chan!!" Her blonde heart's brother was being a big pain in the behind again, as usual.

"I don't think Itachi-san has the appropriate vigor at the moment to go about that type of strenuous activity," Sai remarked seriously, much to everyone's chagrin.

Sakura agreed, and when Naruto appeared to be rather persistent, she added in an irritated growl. "What makes you think that Itachi-san would accost me? What if I was the one who had plans to take advantage of him instead, hm?"

Immediately, their reactions were hilariously similar.

Naruto blanched, and so did Sasuke.

The former had not even thought of the possibility that his pink-haired best friend would be even remotely interested in a cold fish like teme's nii-san, and the latter didn't know what to think at all. After all, it was the truth that his elder brother had a frightening legion of fangirls, but the notion of his violent, sometimes terrifying female teammate at the head of that particular rabid pack of women made the normally unfazed Uchiha cringe inwardly.

Sai came to the rescue, fortunately.

"It is really unseemly to flatter yourself like that, Hag," the ex-ANBU mentioned. "I don't think Itachi-san's taste is so lousy that he would actually go for you."

"…"

The fact that Naruto looked relieved wasn't helping matters when it came to soothing Sakura's injured feminine pride. The fact that Sasuke was looking rarely amused worsened her temper further.

Therefore, it really wasn't that large a surprise to everyone involved when the three stooges of Team Seven were literally dropkicked out of the pink-haired kunoichi's apartment.

"The nerve of those three…" a provoked Sakura muttered to herself as she stalked irritably to her patient's room. Once there, upon seeing that Itachi was still awake, she automatically smoothed her expression to a small smile, albeit a slightly chagrinned one.

"I'm sorry," she apologized. "My teammates can be such morons sometimes. I will give you a quick examination now to ensure that your move here hasn't aggravated anything," she explained ruefully. He nodded in acquiesce, still calm as ever, and she walked towards him unabashedly, matter-of-factly reaching for him and briefly checking his vital stats and temperature, pushing a light stream of healing chakra into his system and evaluating the effectiveness of the antidote as it flushed out the last of the deadly venom within his body.

"You are going to need another dosage of antidote later," she told him, her attention still focused on evaluating his condition. "You are also strained and exhausted from the transfer here, so you need to rest after you take the meds. You may not be used to letting your guard down in a foreign room like this at the moment. Do you want me to give you some sedatives?"

Predictably, he shook his head.

"I don't react well to drugs," he told her. She nodded in understanding, and then left the room quietly to collect his medication. She returned soon enough, and calmly helped him to a sitting position before pouring him a glass of water and handing him the pills. He took them obediently, completely the model patient.

Sakura watched him quietly, this pale and stressed man who took so many responsibilities on his shoulders but yet never showed it, never complained. He was also ridiculously slender now that she was taking note of him, his body lined with lean muscles and hardly any fat, and it made her wonder if he was taking proper care of himself, eating the correct food, if he even cared to pay attention to his own needs.

…Oddly enough, the strange, ephemeral grace that he seemed to possess innately was enough to offset his unemotional, detached appearance, and she was beginning to understand that there was something about him that simply drew one's attention to him, to curiously examine, _to just watch_.

Sakura was still quietly trying to puzzle out what exactly made this man so enigmatic when she noticed him looking at her. A little embarrassed for being caught not paying attention, Sakura proceeded to retrieve the glass from him and return it back to the side table. Then, she quickly prepared him for the antidote injection and swiftly administered the correct dosage into the vein on his arm. Her hands were sure and steady even as she felt the weight of his regard on her, and when she was finally done, she helped him to lie back down upon the futon, trying her best to make him as comfortable as she could.

"Rest," she reminded him again. "I will change your bandages when you wake up. Is there anything you cannot, or do not, like to eat?" she asked.

He shook his head once, and she gave him a small, delighted smile in return.

"Good. You are a lot better than that ridiculously picky brother of yours, then," she remarked cheerfully. "Still, I wonder why you look like you haven't eaten anything decent for _years,_" she exaggerated, feeling comfortable enough to joke with the silent, powerful nin now that he was well settled down. "But don't worry, I will fix something that will help you regain energy quickly; you will need all that and more in order to heal properly. Thank god that you have such a dependable, capable medic like me to help you out, huh?"

It was obvious that she was trying to make light of their situation, trying to put him at ease and make him feel less like an unwanted stranger who was imposing terribly on her, and because he knew exactly what she was trying to do, it wasn't working very well. Not to mention that he seldom, if ever, allowed anyone to see him so badly weakened and helpless; most people would only have to hear the name 'Uchiha' to expect great things without even having laid eyes on him first. But the fact that she didn't seemed fazed or disappointed by the fact that he was apparently as human as anyone else made him a little hesitant of her, almost as if he was unsure of how to deal with her now.

It was rapidly turning into a completely awkward situation, and Sakura's attempt at creating a more positive vibe between herself and the handsome, raven-haired Uchiha heir only served to make the man even more aware of her, even if she was more or less unconscious of his subtle attention.

Sakura only thought that the stoic male was probably unamused by her bad attempt at joking with him. She sighed heavily; there was no choice but to explain what she meant now.

Despite her uncertainty, she still smiled reassuringly at him.

"I was only trying to tell you that I'm going to do everything I can to help you become as strong as you once were, maybe even stronger than before." Her bright emerald eyes were sincere and gentle, the true gaze of a genuine, caring healer and nurturer.

"Please trust me, Itachi-san."

Unblinking onyx stared into earnest emerald, almost as if trying to glean and prod for any hidden agenda in her open, confident gaze.

There was none.

She only intended to help him to the best of her ability, and from the very beginning, she had already laid all of her cards out on the table.

Guileless. Unpretentious. Loyal.

Like that time in the hot springs, he was once again reminded of how vastly different she was from most of the young women of his clan, one of whom he had been resigned since young to marrying in order to protect the strength of the Uchiha bloodline. Taught from birth to be subservient and graceful, capable of concealing their true thoughts and intentions behind elegant displays and delicate, feminine wiles, he had been expected by the clan elders to choose one of his female cousins to wed when the time arrived for him to take a bride to carry on the family line.

The fact that he was currently being so strangely compelled by this pink-haired female did not bode well for that particular endeavor. At that very moment, the powerful Uchiha could not seem to take his eyes off her.

_Charmed. _

Thankfully enough, Sakura did not seem to be waiting for an answer from him, nor did she find his intent regard of her the least bit unusual. She was learning that he was always alert, always watching, and so, still smiling faintly, she gave him a nod, and then exited the bedroom so as to allow him to rest, closing the door soundlessly behind her as she did so.

Wordlessly, he watched her leave, and it was only when she was no longer in sight that he began to try to comprehend this foreign, tight sensation that seemed to have suddenly clustered itself irritably around his chest area.

Within seconds, he quickly came to a perfect understanding of exactly what he was experiencing.

Fluster.

_For the first time in his life, Uchiha Itachi was feeling flustered and emotionally bothered. _

And it was all thanks to this pink-haired female whose house and life he was so abruptly invading, _who had smiled at him_.

Shisui would simply expire of laughter when he knew that the great and powerful Uchiha Itachi had been felled by a smile, of all things.

* * *

"…What is this?"

Set before him was a bowl of black liquid, thick and with a sinister appearance, looking as if completely unfit for consumption. The Uchiha looked to his host for an explanation

"This is a medicinal concoction," Sakura explained. "It is made from different sorts of herbs and has to be boiled for hours before the medicinal properties can take effect." The kunoichi gave him a firm look. "You are not going to like this; it tastes horrible, but it really is great for rebuilding your health-"

Before Sakura could finish speaking, Itachi wordlessly reached out, took the bowl, and drained it swiftly of its awful contents. There was no visible reaction on his face as he drank everything down, though Sakura was certainly aware of how nasty the herbal soup tasted. At last, he returned the emptied bowl to her with little fuss, and she quickly passed him a glass of water to get rid of the bitter aftertaste.

"Here, dinner next." She placed the tray of food before him. "Don't worry; this tastes infinitely better than that concoction."

Because he wasn't supposed to eat anything too substantial yet, she had prepared a simple meal of porridge with a few side dishes of steamed fish, well-prepared vegetables, and tender, stir-fried chicken.

"I cannot finish this," he told her after looking at the generous helping of food spread before him.

She returned his stare with a flat, obstinate glance of her own, having already guessed that something like this would happen.

"That's just too bad, Itachi-san," she told him. "You must eat to regain strength, and since you are not a bird, you really should quit eating like one."

She was openly fussing over him, never mind the fact that he was a rather intimidating individual and no one in their right mind had ever tried what she was doing right now. She didn't seem to care, though, merely watched him with careful eyes, intent on making sure that he ate enough to suit her.

"What about yourself?" he asked in an attempt to bring attention away from himself, unsure, for the very first time, of how to react to one such as her.

"I will eat later. You are more important right now," she stated with open frankness. Then, she seemed to realize what she had just implied unintentionally and became sheepishly embarrassed. "I mean, you are my patient now, and therefore your wellbeing comes first," she amended wryly.

He looked at her.

"You would care so much, just for a patient?" he enquired eventually, an odd tone in his calm, lilting tenor.

She nodded without even a moment's pause.

"It's my duty as a medic," the pink-haired female answered truthfully, and then she gave him a sideways glance. "Besides, you are not just any patient. You are Sasuke's brother, and I doubt he would forgive me if I let anything untoward happen to his beloved aniki."

If he was present, Sasuke would have hotly denied that he practically worshipped the very ground his brother tread upon, though it was a rather well known fact among the members of Team Seven. Because he was currently absent, Sakura saw no reason to miss making fun of her stoic teammate, the fond smile on her face revealing nothing malicious about her good-natured teasing.

It was obvious that she shared a rather intimate bond with all her teammates, his brother included.

"Are you very close to Sasuke?" Itachi probed meaningfully.

Cheerfully, Sakura nodded, not aware exactly what the older Uchiha was trying to glean from her answer.

"Team Seven is like a second family for all of us," Sakura replied firmly. "We share a close bond with each other, and maybe that's what makes us such a great team."

When Itachi remained silent, clearly waiting for her to continue, she spoke again. "We work hard to complement each other's abilities, in order to be an asset and not a liability, in order to help and not hinder, in order to protect our team."

It was evident that she truly believed in her words, the gentle look in her eyes revealing her pure, platonic adoration for her teammates.

"But enough rambling about my team, you really should eat, Itachi-san."

The Uchiha made no more protests this time around, picking up his utensils and eating the well prepared food. Sakura watched him eat, pleasantly pleased when he slowly but surely finished his meal.

"Thank you for the meal. You cook very well," he complimented politely when he was done. Sakura's lips twitched slightly at his well-bred civility. She had a growing feeling that Sasuke must have learned most of his manners from this quietly poised and self-possessed shinobi currently sitting before her.

"You are welcome, and thank you," she acknowledged as she gathered the empty dishes. "Cooking for three picky men tends to help improve my culinary skills."

"Your life revolves around your team," he noted with the slightest hint of narrowed eyes. It was no surprise that she had still remained unattached up till now. Her attention was thoroughly—and greedily—snatched up by the three most important men in her life, none of whom was her lover.

"My team, my work, my friends," she sighed playfully. "Sometimes it feels as if I don't even have enough time for myself. I don't mind though; I spend so much time around people that I probably wouldn't know what to do if I was actually alone." She sent him a quick, bright smile. "I will take care of these dishes, and then I will come back with your meds, and change your bandages as well."

"Thank you, Sakura." His tone was quiet, and startlingly sincere. It wasn't usual for one from the noble clans to indicate such genuine gratitude for services rendered, and certainly never from the heir or future head of the proud clans.

Sakura merely shook her head.

"Don't worry about it, Itachi-san." Her smile was soft, her expression open. "I owe you a favor from last time, remember? I will pay it back this time around, so don't feel as if you are being a burden."

_

* * *

_

::tsuzuku::

* * *

**Questions That I Would Like To Answer Before You Ask:**

Before any one of you can murder me, let me assure you that the second part is coming up next weekend as per usual. It will definitely be more conclusive than this, I assure you.

By the way, 'shinobi' is the bridging one shot between 'sexy no jutsu' and 'Icha Icha Paradise,' so don't get too confused and wonder just which verse the 'messy authoress' is writing about this time.

I know some of you are a little annoyed by how I keep jumping between verses and how I don't group all my one-shots together, and for those who aren't aware, I do keep a little guide thingy that depicts the correct sequence of the one-shots for all the different AU-verses that I write. So for the confused and the irritated, please visit my profile page. The little guide isn't particularly hard to find, it's located right at the top, and if you can't see it, it's probably because you have clicked the very convenient 'hide bio' button, a habit that I'm (sometimes) guilty of.

**xXxXxXxXxX**

Yes, IIP-verse Itachi is an ANBU Captain as well as the Team Medic. I made him thusly because it occurred to me that it probably wouldn't be hard for a genius like him to earn himself a Field Medic qualification. He is also the type to take his responsibilities very seriously, so it shouldn't be that out of the box for him to become the Team Medic in order to personally assure to the wellbeing of all of his cell members.

**xXxXxXxXxX**

The part whereby Itachi had once faced an assassination in the hospital was purely fictional, though it would be interesting to write drugged!disorientated!Itachi one day. Of course, Sakura would get first dibs on our favorite Uchiha, Inner Sakura included.

It really would be most interesting to write such a scenario; once again, my infamous inner pervert is already giggling away.

**xXxXxXxXxX**

I like to think that Itachi can be flustered. He is human after all, and I'm pretty sure that he experiences emotions just like any one of us. Whether he actually shows it or not would be another matter completely, but still, the notion of a flustered Itachi who is sweet on Sakura never fails to melt my inner fangirl (who is on a rampage with the inner pervert, by the way) into a pile of mushy goo.

**xXxXxXxXxX**

IIP!Sakura is very career and team orientated, as you can see. Her life revolves mainly around her work, her teammates and her friends, which explains why she breathes and eats Team 7. She shares a very close bond with her cell mates, a connection that could only be formed through blood and sweat, as well as life and death situations, I would imagine. Like most of the other verses, the team is very protective/possessive of each other, which certainly explains why Sakura is still single and very available, luckily for Itachi, eh?

**xXxXxXxXxX**

Your reviews fuel my passion for writing. So please leave a comment if you like this fic, thank you.

--paws


	2. Chapter 2

**Title:** shinobi

**Author: **paws-bells

**Beta-ed by:** MelissaRose85

**Characters/Pairing: **Haruno Sakura and Uchiha Itachi

**Type:** Two-shot (Complete)

**Genre:** Romance

**Word Count:** 5208

**Theme:** LJ Community, 50-shinobi theme #35, shinobi

**Rating: **T (Contains content not suitable for children)

**Disclaimer:** Naruto belongs to Kishimoto-san.

**Summary: **Non-massacre AU. Sequel to sexy no jutsu. Contrary to popular belief (and Shisui), Itachi did not seduce Sakura during the time she was nursing him back to health. No, it was actually the other way around, and a completely innocent seduction that had ensnared the Uchiha heir like nothing else could. At least, that was how it started.

**Created on:** 21/08/08

**Completed on:** 29/08/08

**Chapter Last Revised on:** 28/02/09

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Chapter 2

* * *

Two days later, Sasuke came over to visit. He was not the only one.

Her visibly irritable teammate skulked into her apartment with a clearly unwanted tagalong, at least for Sasuke, that is.

"Yo! Itachi!" Another raven head popped out from behind the obviously grumpy younger Uchiha. Ridiculously cheerful, a head of messy black hair and lively dark eyes inherent to that of his family bloodline, Uchiha Shisui casually brushed past his miffed younger cousin to greet his other cousin and good friend. "I heard that not only were you carried back to Konoha upon Sakura-chan's lily-smooth back like a little princess, you are now also receiving some private treatment from her as well! Aren't you lucky, you sly dog?"

"…" Sasuke looked very annoyed. "I went over to the clan holdings earlier today, to update Kaa-san about your condition, nii-san." The youngest Uchiha present glowered even more at the mention of his tense visit with his clan, if possible. "Shisui decided to come along as well."

Itachi, who had been feeling strong enough today to have lunch in the living room, simply refused to be embarrassed by Shisui's completely inappropriate but true comments. He nodded in acknowledgement towards his brother and cousin instead.

Sakura smiled in a chagrinned manner. Her superior strength was oftentimes a running gag amongst the circles of her peers, but still, she would never be ashamed of her ability, which had helped transport and saved dozens of close friends and fellow Leaf-nin.

"Have the two of you had lunch already?" she asked instead, smoothly changing the touchy subject of the proud and powerful Uchiha clan heir having to be carted back to Konoha by a kunoichi, of all people. Itachi could have told her that she need not try to soothe his 'injured' male pride, since in the first place, he hadn't minded being rescued by her. It was either that or risk a lower chance of survival, and it had made perfect sense then that she should be the one to aid him, since she was the most skilled medic of her team and he happened to be the most badly injured casualty.

Pride wasn't a necessity, and Itachi had always been a man who survived on only the most basic of needs.

Still, her consideration for him was taken note of, and just like every time she was always trying to help her friends and teammates, she was also doing the same for him. It was a surprisingly pleasant sensation, to be taken care of by her.

"We have already eaten."

Sasuke answered, whereas Shisui proceeded to look comically touched, the idiot.

"My, Sakura-chan!!" the unlikely Uchiha cooed, much to the kunoichi's amusement. "You are being so very cute and domestic that I'm quite envious of Itachi now. Will you nurse me back to health the next time I get injured as well? We can even play house; you will be the sweet and naively innocent wife and I will be the dashing and enigmatic husband!! Ohohohoho!"

Sasuke twitched.

It was true that the 'Shunshin no Shisui' was a formidable shinobi on the battlefield, but it was also a rather well known fact within Konoha that the Uchiha was also an idiot and an incorrigible flirt outside of his missions and assignments, oftentimes finding many ridiculous ways and reasons to escape his duties and often seen with a certain tardy-prone ex-sensei. It really wasn't an uncommon sight to see the Uchiha and Kakashi sitting together in a dango shop (both escaping from their respective 'duties' of course) giggling pervertedly as they read the irritatingly familiar orange books penned by the Super Pervert of Konoha.

Sakura easily shook away Shisui's grasp.

"Shisui-san, I certainly don't mind if you wish to stay here. You do have to be prepared to take on the combined antics of my teammates, though."

The mention of the infamous Team Seven gave even the great Shisui of the Mirage pause. Individually, the four members were very powerful ninjas of their own right. As a team, they were simply an enemy's worst nightmare. It was really no wonder that Team Seven was often contracted to perform covert infiltration and surveillance, assassination, and even outright demolition, their ingenious and out-of-the-box strategies hard to anticipate and even harder to defend against.

"Ahaha, surely you know that I was only jesting," Shisui bantered back at last. Sasuke refrained from rolling his eyes.

Sakura was hardly offended. Shisui-san always was an incorrigible flirt, though he never meant any harm. She cleared the empty dishes from the kotatsu, having just finished her lunch with Itachi.

"I will go wash these up." She gestured to the gathered up utensils. "I will bring out some tea later, so you guys can chat freely if you want. No roughhousing with Itachi-san, though," she warned sternly, though her words seemed to be directed to Shisui more than Sasuke. The older Uchiha threw up his hands in surrender.

"I will be a _good boy_, I promise!"

"Stop flirting with my teammate, baka," an irritated Sasuke muttered at last.

"You aren't dating sweet, darling Sakura-chan, are you? You have no right to object on her behalf!"

"I'm her teammate; therefore I have every right, you immature old fart."

"_Immature old fart?!_ Why, you stupid brat with the older brother complex-"

Shaking her head, Sakura's lips twitched with faint amusement and the pink-haired kunoichi directed a glance at the only Uchiha who didn't seem to be involved in the ruckus around them. "Stay out of the way when they start tussling around the floor, alright?" she cautioned him almost affectionately.

Itachi transferred his attention to her, his dark, onyx eyes briefly searching hers, and then he nodded once.

"Don't worry, Sakura," he assured her. "I'm used to taking care of myself."

She only gave him an odd look.

"That sounds awfully depressing, not to mention anti-social." Her smile widened slightly, though. "I think I know where Sasuke picked up his isolated temperament from now." She became a little serious. "You don't have to take care of yourself all the time. For example, I will be your support at the moment, so feel free to lean on me whenever you are tired, alright?"

She smiled at him again, an earnest smile that made him stare at her.

Though the effect was somewhat ruined by the noise that was getting steadily louder behind them, and the way Sakura's eyebrow ticked revealed her growing ire.

"Like now," she cooed sweetly to him, "when I have to keep the environment quiet and peaceful so that you can rest and recuperate with no disturbance, Itachi-san."

There was a flash of irate darkness across her responsive emerald eyes as she turned and promptly dealt with his overenthusiastic relatives, swiftly breaking up the quarrel and putting them both in their places with the ease of an expert veteran. The cowed, submissive reactions of the other two Uchiha made it very clear that the gentle, nurturing medic-nin could also turn into a terrifying entity on a rampage within the blink of an eye.

And just as quickly, she was able to transform back into the deceptively patient and understanding healer, after all the fuss was effectively dealt with, of course.

"Please do not agitate Itachi-san while I leave to wash the dishes," she remarked sedately. "Is that clear, gentlemen?"

Her soft, sweet lilt held a terrifying tone of warning within it, and it was difficult to comprehend how on earth Sakura could convey such accurate promises of extreme pain through her girlish voice. That only served to make her even more intimidating.

It was no surprise that Sasuke nodded warily (but quickly all the same), whereas Shisui just appeared plain astonished. Then, the men watched her collect the tray of dirty dishes and disappear into the kitchenette.

"Damn, Sakura-chan sure can be scary," the oldest Uchiha amongst the three muttered, still somewhat surprised by the delicate beauty's well-hidden but vicious, hair-trigger temper.

Sasuke snorted.

"Don't tell me that you really believed Kakashi's stupid explanation about how Sakura actually charmed her enemies to death?"

"Eh…" Shisui scratched his chin ruefully, and then tried to change the subject by looking at his good friend. "…So, how are you these days, Itachi?"

* * *

"I was right." Sakura gave Itachi a small, triumphant grin as the raven-haired male finished the last portions of his dinner.

Nearly a week had passed since the injured ANBU Captain had been temporarily living with the pink-haired kunoichi, and in between finding ways to improve his health and doing her best to get along with the sometimes distant and 'difficult to understand' male, the days had flown by quickly. It really had been a good thing that Sakura was relatively fluent in the difficult language of 'Sasuke-ese' since his brother seemed to be on a whole new level by himself.

It wasn't that Itachi was a cold-blooded and hateful individual; it was just that the man was naturally reclusive and ridiculously wary and quiet, preferring to watch a situation from the outside most of the time than actively participate, and that only made him seem even more emotionally distant to those who only saw him on an infrequent basis. That seemingly 'icy' temperament only served to churn up the fevered fantasies of his rabid horde of fangirls, thus fuelling all the rumors that made him out to be a lot more emotionally detached than he really was, and Sakura was beginning to understand a little of just how he ticked, even if she was only barely scratching at the surface of this ridiculously complex man.

Still, as much as he intrigued her, she was rather aware that he was going to leave very soon, the very moment he was healed, actually, and she had tried to tell herself from the very beginning not to get too attached to this particular man, even though he had been the only one other than her parents to see her naked as the day she was born and had kissed her in a way that she had never been kissed before.

Uchiha Itachi was a very brilliant actor, to be able to touch her and weave such seemingly genuine intimacy between the two of them months ago during that disgraceful 'oiroke no jutsu' incident that had nearly landed her (literally and figuratively) in hot water with the Uchiha clan elders. She had been slightly worried that what had happened in the hot springs inn that time would have made staying together a little bit awkward, but the raven-haired ANBU had been the perfect gentleman and model patient, never causing her any trouble and never mentioning anything that may even vaguely allude to that time when they had been tightly wrapped together in the onsen, him touching her in such intimate places that she still sometimes blushed heavily whenever she accidentally thought of it.

Sakura, too, was professional enough to put it aside when the Uchiha was around, of course, but she still could not help but think that he was such a consummate actor if need be. Not that she felt that he would be interested in her just because of their brief encounter nearly three months ago, but the fact that he was acting as if nothing had happened between them made her feel a contradicting sense of relief—and mild depression.

Did she fail so badly as a woman that he could look _and touch_ her naked body once, and not even react with any sort of emotion or stray memory of that day whenever he saw her?

"What were you 'right' about?" the man in question asked then, giving her his entire attention.

Sakura quickly pushed aside her utterly inappropriate thoughts. Now was certainly not the time to examine the pathetic level of her attractiveness to men, or lack thereof. She quickly focused back upon Itachi.

"Well, you really do look a lot better now that you are eating properly again." Chin propped on interlaced fingers, the pretty pink-haired female examined the tall Uchiha currently sitting across the table intently. Now that she was taking the time to notice, he definitely appeared more robust and less exhausted-looking, and the color was returning to his face. Not only that; the poison was completely extracted from his body, his wounds were mostly healed, and she had no doubt that in just a few more days, he was going to leave her apartment and would no longer have to depend on her anymore.

For some reason, the notion that they would return to mere acquaintances again upset her slightly. She had enjoyed his company for the past few days, even if he didn't like to talk unless absolutely necessary, even if he kept defeating her in chess and debating with him was almost always a futile effort. He really was the pride of the Uchiha clan; she may be smart, but he was certainly smarter.

At least, when it came to matters not pertaining to his health. Genius or no, the man appeared to be an absolute ignoramus when it came to taking proper care of himself.

Sakura's emerald eyes narrowed slightly.

"You are going to have to continue eating correct portions of food even after you leave here," she announced bossily, suddenly a little irritated that she wouldn't be able to be by his side constantly during mealtimes to make sure that he actually ate. "Not just whatever teeny bitty nonsense that happens to be convenient just so that you can go beat yourself up some more and call it training, do you understand?"

He only heard a single thing throughout her entire spiel.

"You will release me, soon?"

It just figured that he probably could not wait to leave this place and return to his normal life. It was probably boring as hell for him to stay here for the past few days, and it was probably because of his stern upbringing and background that he had refrained from showing any signs of cabin fever or any other impolite behavior.

This time, Sakura forcibly quelled the twinge of growing upset and nodded quickly instead.

"The only injuries you have now are mostly light and superficial. You are a qualified field medic as well, so you should be able to take care of those wounds yourself with no trouble at all until you heal completely." She looked at him briefly, and then glanced away. "Actually, you can leave now, if you wish."

Her voice was kept deliberately neutral, and she avoided eye contact with him completely as she started to clear the table of empty dishes.

"…Does this mean that the 'favor' you felt you owed me is completely repaid, as well?"

It was a strange question to ask out of the blue, especially when she had fully expected for him to start preparing to vacate her home. Thoroughly confused, she lifted her head to look at him.

"…Yes," she nodded, pausing from her chore to give him her full attention. "I don't owe you anymore; for all that you did to help me that time." She looked at him. "I know you weren't attracted to me in that way, but you still forced yourself to touch me in a manner that would convince your clan elders to believe the lie."

He didn't know how on earth she had somehow managed to convince herself that he must have found it an utter chore to indulge in those kinds of 'delectable activities' with her, but the fact that she was oblivious enough to think thusly made him stare at her with inward incredulity.

Wasn't she aware of how attractive she was?

"I didn't 'force' myself to touch you that day." He decided to clear the air before she could muddle it up even more, this kunoichi who didn't quite seem to understand her own appeal. "I did it quite voluntarily."

Sakura could only look at him with mild incomprehension, and he decided to put it in a more obvious manner.

"I believe there were quite a number of shinobi who would have happily traded positions with me that day," he spoke softly, watching her as the light of understanding slowly dawned in her eyes.

And then she started to blush, and it was a rather adorable expression on her normally confident, saucily mischievous countenance.

"But you-" she quickly tried to quell her fluster by protesting.

"There were a few other ways to help you get out of that particular situation unscathed, and none requiring the sort of intimacy that I had imposed upon you," he admitted bluntly, interrupting her in the process. Poor Sakura was almost gaping at the Uchiha by now.

"I took advantage of you that day, Sakura."

The kunoichi looked like she really didn't know how to respond.

He had taken advantage of her.

_He had taken advantage of her? _

And she had still foolishly thought that she owed him a favor. Was he making an idiot out of her the entire time?

Granted, she had been ever the willing fool, but she had never thought of him as purposely malicious or hurtful!

He wasn't.

At the moment, those mesmerizing emerald eyes of hers were so transparent that he could read each and every one of the thoughts that flitted across her mind.

The sweet-tempered, passionate healer, whom he was most interested in, at the moment looked almost wounded by the callousness that she had perceived in his deception, but that wasn't the truth.

She hadn't heard the full story yet, and he wasn't about to let her go jumping to any false conclusions before he could clarify the entire matter with her.

Uchiha Itachi had no intention of wasting more time coaxing her to believe the truth when his patience had already been sorely tested the past week. She had been so near the entire while, genuine and concerned and so damned earnest that it was difficult not to react to her and be apathetic instead. After all, she had been only trying to 'return a favor,' as well as only 'caring for a patient' and putting in so much effort looking after him only because he happened to be 'Sasuke's elder brother.'

As much as he had wanted to touch her again like that time in the hot springs, he was prevented from trying to seduce her because of _her_.

In a way, this was really all her fault.

But not anymore.

Now that she had as much as admitted that she was no longer trying to do him any favors, she was now open to him again, and no longer influenced to just accept his suit blindly by any obligation she felt she owed him.

Of course, that really wasn't the problem anymore, judging by the way her eyes were firing up with growing anger.

…He was really beginning to enjoy watching the way those responsive eyes of hers never failed to shine with her every emotion.

Sakura, on the other hand, was really getting furious. How could she have thought that Sasuke's brother was the perfect gentleman when he was actually such a jerk?! Had she been blinded by him or something? Powerful ANBU or no, she was ready to rip him a new one, and then boot him out of her house immediately and ignore him for the rest of her life, but clearly he had other ideas.

Before she could even start voicing her displeasure, he had reached across the narrow kotatsu between them, caught her by her wrist, and easily pulled her upper torso to his. Surprised by his abrupt act, she was slow to react, her senses dulled by her unhappiness. By the time she thought to pull away he was already meeting her halfway, his mouth pressing against her parted lips as he gave her a hard, urgent kiss. His free hand came up to cup the back of her head, holding her in place, his long fingers twisted amongst her luxurious pink hair.

She was stunned by his daring boldness, but even that changed quickly to growing anger when she realized what he was doing.

He was trying to distract her, and damn it all, it was working.

He was preventing her from moving away, coaxing her to accept his deep, demanding kisses, his tongue sliding into her mouth and taking absolute possession of her even as his lips caressed hers with exquisite gentleness. Still, it would have been thoroughly simple for her to use her chakra-powered fist to get out of her current situation.

She didn't.

The fact that he wasn't completely healed from his injuries made her hesitate, and the medic in her was simply unwilling to inflict any damage upon him.

The woman in her was also unwilling to hurt him as well.

And he knew it too.

"_Sakura…_" he whispered her name huskily against her lips, his heavily lashed eyes dark and searching. "We never did finish what we started that day, did we?"

She shuddered, and tried immediately to pull away from him and his soft, alluring voice. How was it possible that he could affect her this way? He was making her knees go weak with just a single, heavy-eyed glance!

He refused to let her go, and instead, tugged her slowly away from the table that obstructed him from her, moving closer against her when he managed to coax her around to where he wanted her to be.

Tilting his dark head, he trailed his lips down the curve of her neck, running the sharp blade of his nose lightly against her fluttering pulse point, licking and nipping her soft skin carefully. She trembled even more, and he could feel her tense up as she tried to resist him.

"I…don't want this," she spoke shakily, not looking at him, not looking at the way he was kissing her. "…Stop, you are just playing around with my emotions."

To her surprise, he actually stopped.

He lifted his head to regard her, his eyes calm and sure.

"You told me to trust you," he commented calmly. "You told me to depend upon you, that you would be my support whenever I needed it."

Well, that wasn't exactly what she had told him, but what he had said was mostly correct and Sakura knew that she couldn't take back her words. That didn't mean she didn't try.

"That was before I knew you tricked me," she defended unhappily, not pleased at all to be maneuvered into a corner by him. "Sasuke always worshipped you; you were the perfect brother to him-"

He was unfazed by her accusation.

"I never claimed to be perfect, or a decent person," he interrupted her. "Understand that I'm an Uchiha, I will do anything to get what I want."

His eyes narrowed upon hers.

"_And I want you_."

It was a simple sentence, but it felt as if he was branding the words into her very soul.

She flinched reflexively, instinctively affronted by the quiet possessiveness in his silky voice.

"Let me go, and get out of my house," she hissed furiously, hackles rising with indignation all over again.

He did not budge.

"No." Not surprisingly, he denied her demand. "It's a little too late to try to drive me out of your life now."

"You are not who I thought you were."

Something flashed across his eyes at her stark statement, but still, he refused to release her.

"I am exactly as I am," he told her in a hard tone. "I am not perfect, Sakura."

Without even thinking, she answered reflexively, not even sure what he was trying to say at first.

"Of course you are not perfect," she snapped, irritably. Did he really think that he was a god? "You are only human."

Then, the truth behind her words hit her with the force of her sledgehammer.

_He was only human, just like her. _

The abrupt realization also awoke her to the fact that, just like everyone else, she had unconsciously expected him to be the man she had blindly assumed him to be. The perfect clan heir, the perfect warrior, the perfect man.

He wasn't.

It was true that he was a highly intelligent individual and brilliant strategist and shinobi in the field, it was true that he would be an excellent leader of his clan one day, and it was certainly true that he cared so much for his little brother that he would have willing sacrificed himself time and again to protect Sasuke in every way he could.

However, behind that façade that was powerful warrior, formidable leader and protective brother, was a man, not a god.

He was not perfect.

And he was opening up for her, showing her a rare glimpse of his true self, hidden flaws and all.

The look of surprised comprehension on her face must have been obvious, for the way his gaze gentled on hers made her feel strangely uncomfortable—and unworthy.

She looked away with great effort.

"You are not perfect," she mumbled gruffly, wondering why on earth she was feeling as if she was giving him a compliment instead of an insult. She sought to revise her mistake immediately. "You are only human, and you are also a pervert, to boot."

She quickly became irritated again. She should have known that Shisui-san's bad habits would have rubbed off on his best friend, never mind that Itachi was normally a hard-to-read and stoic individual. It just goes to say that one should never judge a book by its cover.

"Let go of me," she remarked once more, now calmer and not as furious as before. Oh, she was definitely still quite ticked, but the hurt was fading away, fast, though if he thought that he would be able to bully her any way he pleased, boy was he in for a big surprise.

In concession to her demand, he loosened his hold on her, but still failed to release her. She gave the handsome Uchiha a pointed look, but since she wasn't in the mood to get into another tug-of-war with him, she decided to stay put instead.

"I will not allow you to take advantage of me again," she informed him flat out.

He merely raised a brow.

"I won't call this 'taking advantage,'" he drawled softly.

"Of course you won't." Her sarcasm was obvious, but he ignored her mutter easily and continued to speak.

"I'm making my intentions clear this time."

"I want you," he repeated calmly.

She stared at him.

"If you are expecting for me to fall all over your feet in a dead swoon, you are sadly mistaken."

He looked mildly interested by her remark.

"If you do faint, it will be easy to find ways to persuade you to wakefulness."

The faint, silkily suggestive tone of his was impossible to miss. Her face warmed slightly.

"I'm not going to indulge in relations with you."

"Not yet," he merely amended blandly. Now that he had her complete attention, he could afford to bide his time.

Surprisingly enough, Sakura did not argue his point. The kunoichi was honest with her feelings and realistic enough to be aware that she would only be prolonging the inevitable by denying what was sure to happen eventually.

Of course, she wasn't planning to make it easy for him.

He would thoroughly relish her challenge.

Still, despite Itachi's obvious interest, Sakura still felt the need to warn him off, one last time.

"If this is just a frivolous pursuit to you, or even a game, I would suggest you quit here." She frowned inwardly at the rather possible notion that he was only toying with her, but quickly willed away her uncomfortable thoughts. "You are going to make a lot of people angry if that is the case."

He was fully aware of what she meant. He had done his research on her, and had learned in the process that she had no lack of friends, and was a rather popular individual among her patients and fellow nin as well. Not to mention her close connection with their Hokage and her own fearsome teammates, it was no wonder that there were not a lot of men who were daring enough to take on this beautiful, intelligent and caring, albeit very well-guarded, kunoichi.

All the better for him.

The Uchiha looked at the pink-haired female calmly, contemplatively.

"I only play for keeps, Sakura."

His sure, quiet reply told her without doubt that he meant exactly what he said, and although her heart was pounding ridiculously hard over his gentle, yet intent, proclamation, Sakura was not quite ready to be completely charmed by the handsome, raven-haired Uchiha who happened to be her teammate's beloved older brother. Sakura didn't even want to think about Sasuke's reaction when he realized what was going on between herself and his aniki, and she really didn't even want to imagine her teammates' collective explosion when they knew. As such, Sakura quickly pushed that thought aside.

"Is that all?" Itachi asked; his hands curled loosely around her waist, those long fingers of his stroking the bare skin that peeked out from between her shirt and pants with casual, yet startling intimacy. A little disconcerted by how pliant and relaxed she was by his touch, Sakura quickly laid her own hands over his to stop him from his distracting ministrations.

He took advantage of her action immediately, turning his palms towards hers and easily interlocking his fingers with hers, holding her in place as he trapped her smaller hands in his. She frowned slightly at him.

"I want you to promise to take better care of yourself," she blurted out. She might as well milk this encounter for as much as it was worth, since the normally detached man was feeling so uncharacteristically indulgent.

His onyx eyes darkened slightly at her demand, drawing her attention to those brilliant slivers of cobalt blue that were embedded deeply in his irises. It took her breath away, this sudden hungry, almost sexual look in his intense gaze.

"What is it now?" It was all she could do not to stammer.

"Do you have any idea, Sakura, how much you affect me whenever you say things like that?" he began softly, his voice slightly lower, huskier than before, his eyes never leaving hers. "I want badly to ravish you, to have you writhing under me, your eyes glazed, seeing no one but me, your lips red, your mouth crying nothing but my name."

She started to turn bright red at his casual, but oh-so-explicit description.

"I was only asking you to take care of yourself!" she protested in surprise. It wasn't as if she was being suggestive or anything!

But he was.

Giving her a half-lidded, heavy stare, he bent his head down slowly and lazily, slowly, brushed his lips against the hypersensitive shell of her ear. She shook slightly at the sensation, but remained perfectly still within the cage of his arms.

Emerald eyes darkened, dilated. Dear god…

"But Sakura," His whisper was like crushed velvet, chocolaty and smooth.

"_I would much prefer for you to take care of me instead."_

_

* * *

_

::owari::

* * *

**Questions That I Would Like To Answer Before You Ask:**

And so, here ends 'shinobi.' Hope you people enjoyed the read. If any one of you are getting less-than-innocent-mental-images from Itachi's last sentence, that was purely unintentional, I assure you.

Well! I still have one more little (sort of) vignette to finish off this entire 'IIP' series, but that will probably be all for now.

**xXxXxXxXxX**

Some Shisui-loving for my good friend/cackle buddy Zelha!

The poor guy is so unloved in the fandom, and most of the conspiracy theories out there (and some are really _out there_, I assure you) don't exactly paint a very good picture of him. I'm aware that my version of Shisui is probably completely OOC in canon-verse, but I sort of like him that way; perverted and cheerful and all. After all, he has to have something going for him to be such good friends with our favorite stoic Uchiha, don't you think?

**xXxXxXxXxX**

Aha, as for Itachi being sort of a pervert as well; I think none of you should be surprised, after his 'sterling' performance in IIP.

Please blame Shisui for his deviant behavior.

**xXxXxXxXxX**

I'm rather pleased with how IIP!Sakura turned out, sugar and spice and everything nice and all. She can be terrifying as heck, but on the other hand, she is mostly passive, until you are unfortunate enough to get her all riled up, of course.

**xXxXxXxXxX**

Your reviews fuel my passion for writing. So please leave a comment if you like this fic, thank you.

--paws


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